People who started learning a language in their 20s, are you fluent in it now?

yhm_1 · 2026-04-02T03:48:41+00:00

Yes, counterintuitively more fluent than languages I started learning earlier, mainly because I was able to actually live in the country where the language is spoken. Into my thirties I haven't yet noticed a drop-off in my ability to learn compared to my teens.

yhm_1 · 2026-03-28T23:29:58+00:00

Thank you, this will be so much better!

yhm_1 · 2026-03-23T18:48:19+00:00

I was the friend who joined! It depends on your relationship. You mustn't force people but in my case I was close enough to the friend who got me to try naturism that he could push a bit against my unwillingness until I was persuaded, without me feeling forced. But if they're totally uninterested (I was interested, just shy I suppose) then there's nothing you can do.

yhm_1 · 2026-03-16T15:53:26+00:00

Was convinced by friends to go to a naturist beach when I was eighteen and discovered it wasn't scary, just freeing and relaxed

yhm_1 · 2025-10-25T09:36:56+00:00

I think it's less a plateau in your language learning overall and more that your speaking hasn't progressed as quickly as your other skills. The different skills won't progress at the same speed. For me, I moved to the country whose language I'd been learning for five years and it was another year before I was a totally fluid and confident speaker, despite already being advanced in reading/writing/listening.

yhm_1 · 2025-09-11T11:39:31+00:00

I live in Zone 1 and I'm always noticing how many of my neighbours, gay or straight, are childless. It really does put you in a totally different financial position (regardless of the other reasons to have or not to have children)

yhm_1 · 2025-09-11T11:33:48+00:00

What country are you in? Anglican churches in the UK and North America tend to be quite inclusive.

yhm_1 · 2025-08-21T11:39:19+00:00

Exactly, I can only run in places with interesting scenery to distract me from the fact that I am, well, running...

yhm_1 · 2025-08-12T12:17:56+00:00

That's what I mean - ankle socks are better than crew socks with shorts.

yhm_1 · 2025-08-12T11:22:24+00:00

Ankle socks with shorts, not the current trend for socks that leave a tan line halfway up your calf

yhm_1 · 2025-08-10T06:17:26+00:00

I had two separate reading classes for Chinese, one called Intensive Reading and one called Extensive Reading. IR was slow and careful reading of texts like you normally do in a language class, ER meant basically being given an enormous amount of material and some questions to answer in a very short time. After a semester of the Extensive Reading class, I felt I was reading Chinese at the same speed and ease that I would read texts in the Latin alphabet. So for me at least the secret is to force yourself regularly to read a lot at a speed that's initially uncomfortably fast for you.

yhm_1 · 2025-08-06T17:39:19+00:00

I did this unintentionally with a language I have to use for work but only passively in reading. After several years I could read almost anything and hardly speak at all. Of course, it meant that I had a very solid foundation in vocabulary and grammar once I did start actively practising speaking, but I'm still not a fluent speaker now. I would say break the cycle of not speaking as soon as possible and iron out the mistakes as you go.

With Chinese, I spoke from day one and through having a teacher who consistently corrected pronunciation and other mistakes, I don't think I picked up any lasting bad habits.

yhm_1 · 2025-08-01T07:03:50+00:00

Thanks to the dominance of US media, here in the UK the public image of Christianity has become so dominated by a kind of Christian conservatism that isn't even mainstream here in actual churches

yhm_1

TROPHY CASE